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I may be looking to get an iMac soon. I do a lot of photoshop and recording stuff. I have a couple questions.

First off I know they switched to intel, but ive read that most programs dont run well that arent rereleased for this switch. So ill probably wait a while for more programs to be released for the new iMac.

Also I want to know what i would need to record. I know I can use Garage Band but how would i plug in a mic(Shure SM57) with an XLR chord into the mac? Would i just have to get a converter to turn it into a standard 1/8"jack?

Also can i buy a USB mouse with two buttons and a wheel for it?

Ive also read most games dont work on macs, i dont care too much since im more of a console gamer but is this true?

Basically I use my computer for internet, music, photoshop, and schoolwork. Would switching to a mac be a good choice? Also is it worth getting the G5 over the imac?

First off I know they switched to intel, but ive read that most programs dont run well that arent rereleased for this switch. So ill probably wait a while for more programs to be released for the new iMac.

Probably the good way to go, Universal apps are becoming more common now days. But just to point out that Photoshop will work on Intel mac's just not very well.

Also can i buy a USB mouse with two buttons and a wheel for it?

Yes you can, any standard USB mouse will work fine. At the moment I'm using the MS basic mouse, works like a treat.

I've also read most games dont work on macs, i dont care too much since im more of a console gamer but is this true?

It's not that they don't work, it weather they are available. If it's available on Mac it will work but the selection isn't amazing.

Basically I use my computer for internet, music, photoshop, and schoolwork. Would switching to a mac be a good choice? Also is it worth getting the G5 over the imac?

This is exactly what they are built to do, you are the perfect candidate for switching to mac. While a G5 will do the job fine now days, it's hard to tell how well it will be supported in future but going by past record will would live a long life. The only problem is, where would you get a G5 iMac new?

It's not that Macs aren't open to programs, its that the developers do not care to write them for the Mac. Over the year I have used Mac, I have seen more and more development occuring for Windows and Mac instead of Windows only.

There are rumors of virtualization technology for OS X 5 Leopard. This means you can run multiple OS's at once, like Linux OS X and Windows XP all at once and switch between.

There currently is emulation in Microsoft VirtualPC for the PPC Macs (G4 and G5 processors) and other similar apps, but this emulation is slow because it not only has to translate the windows APIs but also the intel code to PPC code. VirtualPC is not universal yet, but if it becomes universal, you could then run Windows within a window in OS X with very little speed loss as there would not be the translation of intel to PPC microcode overhead.

An iMac would be fine for what you need to do, especially when Photoshop becomes universal. Also, Windows XP can be installed beside OS X on the new intel Macs, so you can just reboot into either system, but there are driver issues with running XP on a mac that are still being worked out.

oh and will macs ever be more open to all programs? I realize most things are for windows but will there ever be emulation or something?

No.

MacOS X is not Windows and will likely never be able to run Windows programs natively. There is Virtual PC, which runs like a slug on the PPC Macs and doesn't run at all on the Intel macs. There is rumor that OSX 10.5 may have a virualization to allow users to run different OSs simultaneously and switch between them without rebooting, but that remains to be seen. It up to the software writers to make their Apps compatible with the Mac, not Apple.

oh and will macs ever be more open to all programs? I realize most things are for windows but will there ever be emulation or something?

If you haven't seen it yet, Apple has released a program called Boot Camp for the Intel Macs that is now in beta, and will come free and included in Leopard (OS X 10.5). It allows easy installation of other operating systems and then being able to choose which you want to run at startup. http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/